Cardiac risk markers: What is a cardiac marker test?

Cardiac risk markers are blood tests that indicate the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease.

Cardiac risk markers: What is a cardiac marker test?

Cardiac risk markers are blood tests that indicate the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease. The markers include cholesterol, glucose, uric acid, hemoglobin A1c (blood sugar level), and much more. There’s a great experiment you can do to find out what your risks are. If you eat one teaspoon of sugar this week and keep your diet as close to normal as possible for three days afterward, these levels will go up! Eating all the same foods saves time and money because it gives insight into just how high numbers need to be before doctors say “let’s take things seriously.”

Cardiac risk factors are things that put you at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Factors such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, smoking, and a family history of cardiovascular disease all elevate your chance of developing heart problems. If you have a lot of these risk factors it makes sense to make lifestyle changes to help lower them.

Some dietary recommendations for reducing cardiac risks include removing soft drinks from the diet, limiting the intake of unhealthy fats by selecting lean proteins and healthy…